Samardzija shoulders the load in Cubs’ win
Jeff Samardzija looked and sounded Friday like a guy who’s ready to shoulder the burden.
That would be literally and figuratively.
Samardzija overcame a laborious first two innings, throwing 46 pitches. He wound up trailing 3-0 after three innings but settled in and kept the Cubs in the game until they rallied for a 5-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies at steamy Wrigley Field.
Although Samardzija didn’t come away with the decision, he pitched 7 strong innings to lower his ERA from 4.17 to 4.09.
“I tell you what, man, if you look at all my starts this season, that’s probably one of the more proud starts I can say I had,” he said. “There’s been times when I had good stuff and it’s gone smoothly. To come out early like that and scuffle and really not have fastball command or a slider all game, to get through the 7 innings felt really good.
“It felt like a starting pitcher, consciously understanding what’s there and what’s not there and working on what you have. So it felt good.”
That last part is key: Samardzija feeling like a starting pitcher.
Take a look back at spring training and fast-forward to where the 27-year-old right-hander is today.
In February, Samardzija wasn’t guaranteed a spot in the starting rotation. Now he’s the de facto ace of the pitching staff after the trades of Ryan Dempster and Paul Maholm and the injury to Matt Garza.
“It’ll be interesting to look back at the end of the season to watch the path of the season and how it went,” he said. “I’m just in season mode right now, so I’m not trying to look too much into it and look forward to the next start.
“I’m really happy. It’s a lot like last year, the way I was at the beginning of camp last year and how we made some adjustments and corrected some things and finished really strong. It’s kind of taken that same path.”
If Garza’s sore elbow recovers, he’ll likely come back as the No. 1 starter next year, but manager Dale Sveum said he believes Samardzija has the makings to be the top dog.
“Yeah, he’s got the durability, he’s got the power, the split, and now it’s just more of a learning process,” Sveum said. “His mentality, he wants to be a No. 1. He has the stuff to be able to do it. Now it’s just the pitch efficiency to go 7 innings, 115-120 pitches when need be and things like that. Obviously, that’s down the road a little bit. But he’s got all the makings to do it.”
As this space has pointed out since April, Samardzija “willed” himself into the starting rotation with an off-season of hard work.
That work apparently has continued. Sveum says Samardzija’s shoulder has passed all the Cubs’ in-season strength tests.
“He’s actually got stronger since spring training,” the manager said. “His work ethic. You don’t throw that many pitches and innings and get stronger unless you’ve been doing a lot of work on the side to prevent any injuries and to keep that part going as strong as possible. When that breaks down, a lot of things start breaking down.”
Samardzija credited trainer Mark O’Neal and strength coach Tim Buss.
“I’ve got to give a lot of kudos to our strength staff and our training staff, Bussie and (O’Neal) staying on me,” he said. “It’s easy to get complacent throughout a long season. I know me and Bussie put the work in in the off-season to be ready for the season and to go through the long season.
“But you’ve still got to do your work during the year and do your shoulder routine and do your conditioning. Those two guys have stayed on me and really took it upon themselves to make sure I don’t let myself down.”